A Velha Fabrica Cáceres

... That was extra exciting for me because Davy didn't have much luggage so he helped me with my massive, way too heavy suitcase. In the hostel, my roommate was a French girl named Adela (that's a phonetic spelling), but after the first night, she spent most of her time with the other French people so I didn't get to know her much. At dinner, the introductions continued, and I met Damiano from Sardinia, Italy (that brings back some great memories ...

... to families, as if we we had been pre-picked for a fantasy league. "Joe!" the director called as I shuffled over toward a short gentleman with a hearty Buddha belly and an even shorter young muchacha morena next to him. "Joe, this is Santí, your host father," Denise recited in Spanish while gesturing toward the pleasantly pudgy man. We shook hands and he introduced me to his daughter, Isa, my host sister. "Estoy muy exitado ...

... into the basin with my washing and a dose of elbow grease. But if he got that bit wrong his advice on an internet place was spot-on and I was able to spend more than a couple of hours updating the blog. Trouble is they do not permit uploads so still no new photos to show. (As an aside, I am not the least surprised so many of these places have gone out of business in Cáceres; I was charged €2:30 for 2.5 hours use!) I mentioned previously that C ...

... 7 km climb out of the town. The route was a good one with little traffic and before long I spotted a couple of pilgrims sitting at a bus stop looking pretty forelorn; in fact one had his head in his hands! A little farther on I came across a few on bikes and we exchanged the usual courtesies. Up and up I went until I reached the pass at Puerte de los Castaños, which presented amazing views into the far distance. And what struck me was how the landscape changed from one side of the ...

... La Troya. It was family style, and each table came with a huge loaf of bread, a Spanish torilla, bottles of wine and water, a salad, and salami for a first course. Following that was two different types of meat dishes and ice cream for dessert. It was definitely my favorite Spanish meal so far for the portions, variety, and the atmosphere of the cute restaurant. After lunch, we began the three or four hour drive back to Sevilla.

... streets, stopping to watch a wedding procession coming out of the church before we got to go inside and climb its bell tower which lent beautiful views of the city and surrounding countryside. One of the neat things about the city, which you could actually see quite well from the bell tower, is that the town is known for its storks, who nest all over the buildings. To cap off our tour, we went to the Museum of Cáceres ...

... speak with this person for 3 straight hours if you can. The Spaniards' English was not bad at all because they have to have a certain proficiency level to be part of the program, even though Jarrett had to take a few breaks because he could not think of things to talk about to a stranger, and you also struggle to understand each other at times. After we arrived things immediately began and this is the way it went for the entire week. That ...

... flying from there, so we decided that as there is another Moorish palace there, we could hope that they don't realise it's Monday and it might actually be open. And amazingly, the satnav, got us straight in, car parked and we were off. We followed the signs, not the one that said 43, as in the temperature, but the ones for where we wanted to go to. And then we were there, at the Alcazar, and it was open. As we only had a short time, under an hour, we only bought ...

Last night during dinner, Teresa was watching a bull fight on TV. I told myself before I got here that I wouldn´t go to a bull fight. Before we got to Salamanca, Dr. Torrico told us he would be taking us to one and that if we didn´t want to go, we didn´t have to but he strongly encouraged it. My feelings are pretty clear on the subject: it´s a cruel and humilating death. I couldn´t sit, or for that matter PAY, to support something like that. However, I wasn´t exactly expecting it ...

... rains stay away. The weather has been very agreeable. What else... We made some great new rowdy friends in a small village in the fruit orchard valley. The kids were all drinking cheap watery wine from old timey flasks, beating on home made drums, marching through the street causing a ruckus. they were rocking the bleached out mullet mohawks and they wanted us to drink with them. normally this would have been a perfect opportunity for them to tease and heckle ...